Milk Does(n't) the Body Good!

We are told that cows milk is mother natures most perfect food. I couldn’t agree more. It is the most perfect food… for a new born calf. Personally, I think there is no excuse for drinking any sort of dairy milk. Like humans cows do not lactate naturally, people!

However, four recent studies suggest other reasons to avoid dairy besides for animal welfare reasons. 

Back in 2007 this study helped to show that adding cows milk to black tea blocks the human digestive system from absorbing the benefits of the tea. Most teas are very high in antioxidants and vitamins, essentially you’re drinking the goodness of dark leafy greens! However, so complete was the negative effect that when adding cows milk to black tea it completely blunted any benefits of drinking the tea. Perhaps you should learn to like your tea the way you like your men! Or something to that affect.

A year later, a study found when blackberry juice is prepared with defatted milk that there was no increase of ellagic acid absorbed into the blood. Ellagic acid is an antioxidant found to be chemoprotective and also has the ability to reduce blood pressure and as well as to reverse artery wall thickness. Absorption of ellagic acid plasma greatly increased when the blackberry juice was made with water instead.

Then two big studies came out in 2009 that helped to show two things: one that berries are powerful antioxidants with multiple health benefits including helping to reverse brain-function decline due to age; and two that consuming berries with dairy nearly blocks all of the healthy properties of eating the berries. For instance adding fresh strawberries to cereal is always a great idea; however, when you are using cows milk in your cereal, you will block any benefits of eating the strawberries. 

While these four studies all involve relatively small sample sizes, they do suggest that consuming dairy milk may defeat the purpose of consuming other healthy foods with them and force use to wonder what   other negative affects of consuming dairy there are. Perhaps there is a reason why other species do not naturally consume milk past infancy or from a different species. Besides blocking antioxidants from being absorbed into your bloodstream, cows milk is fatty and has high levels of cholesterol. Both are related to heart disease, which is currently America’s greatest killer. While I am not a registered dietitian, I would advise leaving cows milk for the calfs and choosing a more compassionate and healthful alternative such as unsweetened almond milk or sunflower milk! 

GOT MILK? I SERIOUSLY HOPE NOT!